Chapter 34
You know what, don’t even say it.
The words “master” and “wishing well” actually look quite similar!
Taotie went quiet for a moment, as if contemplating something.
After a while, his dark golden pupils lazily narrowed. The nearly two-meter tall man circled Jian Yunlan, raising his voice and shouting with an exaggerated tone, “Master, you’re so good to me, master~”
Jian Yunlan: “…”
You’re calling me master, but you’re thinking of a wishing well, aren’t you!!!
The butler, who was secretly observing, excitedly cupped his face in his hands and shyly smiled:
“Oh, the young master and Lord Taotie, how playful they are.”
This must be what young people like, some sort of master-servant play, right?
Better write it down in my notebook.
*
On the other side.
Jian Yunlan, with dead-fish eyes, walked into the living room with three dishes and a soup, placing them on the table. Taotie obediently followed behind, sitting at the dining table.
Jian Yunlan served himself a bowl of rice and silently started eating.
Taotie: “?”
Taotie sat down grandly.
After waiting for a while and seeing Jian Yunlan not serve him any food, he began to grow impatient.
“Master… no, human,” Taotie’s tone was strange. “Where’s my food?”
Jian Yunlan: “Are you disabled? Serve it yourself.”
Taotie fell silent.
Jian Yunlan ate quickly, his chopsticks almost blurring with speed.
Mmm, sweet and sour, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, delicious.
In no time, the plate of sweet and sour spare ribs was nearly finished.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Jian Yunlan glanced at Taotie, “Is the food not to your taste? Ah, what a pity, I’ll just finish it then.”
Taotie slammed the table in anger, leaning forward. The shadow of his beastly form loomed over, and his bone shoulder armor appeared. The cold wind from another world blew Jian Yunlan’s clothes wildly:
“Human, you don’t know what’s good for you. I’ve been merciful—”
Jian Yunlan, as if performing magic, pulled another plate of sweet and sour spare ribs from beneath the table. “This is for you.”
Taotie instantly changed his expression.
“Master, why didn’t you say so earlier?” Having just revealed his true form, with his silver long hair flowing and his fierce, handsome face, Taotie extended his hand, playfully pushing Jian Yunlan’s shoulder and whining, “You’re bad.”
Jian Yunlan: “…”
Taotie: “…………”
Both of them shuddered in unison.
So awkward. So scary.
Goosebumps all over!
Taotie, now blushing, sat down, took a bowl and chopsticks, and silently began to eat his rice.
Jian Yunlan didn’t know what kind of expression to make in response, so he just served himself another bowl of rice and silently continued eating.
After a while, Jian Yunlan casually spoke as he ate:
“From now on, don’t call me master—”
Taotie: “Shut up.”
Jian Yunlan dared not say anything else. He was afraid that if he kept talking, Taotie would lose his mind.
The meal ended awkwardly.
*
After the meal.
It was still early, but tomorrow would be his last day of street vending. Jian Yunlan wanted to showcase his best skills and offer a feast for his customers.
So… what should he make?
Speaking of fried rice, there was a classic fried rice dish Jian Yunlan had never sold before.
—Yangzhou Fried Rice!
Since he was going to make it, he had to make it the most authentic.
Many people think Yangzhou Fried Rice is just regular egg fried rice with extra seasoning, but that’s not the case. The cooking method for Yangzhou Fried Rice is very special, requiring high attention to detail from the chef. Of course, with Jian Yunlan’s top-level cooking skills, this wouldn’t be a problem.
However, what he wasn’t sure about was whether authentic Yangzhou Fried Rice was suitable for street vending and whether he could gather all the ingredients within a day.
To make authentic Yangzhou Fried Rice, the ingredients alone number more than a dozen, all quite complicated.
This was the fun of street vending.
Constantly challenging himself!
Since he decided to make Yangzhou Fried Rice, he couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning to buy the ingredients. Jian Yunlan packed up and went to the market in the afternoon.
“Mao Mao, come with me. I have a lot of ingredients to buy today, and I can’t manage it alone.”
Jian Yunlan pulled Taotie, who had transformed back into a dog and was taking an afternoon nap, out of his rest.
Taotie lazily yawned, stood up, and shook his fur: “…”
“Alright, master.”
Jian Yunlan: “Are you calling me a turtle in your mind?”
Taotie: “?”
No, how could a human read minds?!
Soon, the man and the dog arrived at the market. Upon seeing the familiar tricycle, the market vendors eagerly greeted them, waving and exchanging pleasantries:
“Boss Jian! You’re here so early again.”
“We’ve got fresh chicken, free-range chickens raised ourselves. Want some? I’ll give you a discount, Boss Jian~”
“Hey, isn’t that Mao Mao? Hahaha, Mao Mao is Boss Jian’s dog!”
Many people still remembered Taotie, since last time he helped his master shop for groceries, which left quite an impression. Several people approached, complimenting Mao Mao: “So handsome,” “Smart,” “Such a majestic dog!”
Taotie puffed out his chest, looking even prouder than usual.
“Boss Jian, what are you buying? Let us help you pick, so you don’t waste time walking around without finding what you need!” Old Li from the butcher’s stall said with a cheerful smile.
The vendors at the market were especially kind to Jian Yunlan, not just because he paid quickly without haggling, but because Jian Yunlan had helped many people at the market.
For example, the high school student Tong Ling, who used to sell goods for her grandfather in that corner, had been seen by everyone working hard despite a difficult life. People wanted to help but could only feel helpless. Later, Tong Ling managed to ride on Jian Yunlan’s popularity and opened an online store. Now, she could focus on studying.
There was also Aunt Ning, who worked in housekeeping but often sold chili sauce at the market. Ever since Jian Yunlan started buying chili sauce from her, she no longer had to travel across the city every day. It was said that she had saved enough money to move, and her family’s life was getting better.
Everyone genuinely felt happy for them.
Old Li from the butcher’s stall was in a similar situation. His youngest son had a rare disease, and he worked tirelessly to make ends meet, but the high medical expenses couldn’t be covered by selling meat alone. When things were about to reach a breaking point, the head of the cafeteria at Beijing University’s South Second Campus came to him, saying the students had strongly requested pork from Jian Yunlan’s food stall. Jian Yunlan then gave them Old Li’s contact information.
Thanks to this big client, Old Li’s life became much easier, the medical bills were covered, and he no longer had to sacrifice his health to work. The smile on his face increased. Every time Jian Yunlan came to the market, Old Li was always the first to greet him.
Everyone could see all this.
What they could do was limited, but every time Jian Yunlan came to buy groceries, even though they knew he wasn’t short on money, they would secretly give him discounts, always picking the best quality goods for him.
“I’m planning to make Yangzhou Fried Rice tomorrow, and I might need your help,” Jian Yunlan said with a bit of embarrassment, smiling. “I need to buy chicken, chicken gizzards, winter bamboo shoots, sea cucumbers, flower mushrooms, and dried scallops…”
The vendors initially listened attentively, trying to remember everything.
Soon, everyone started sweating.
Who could remember all that?!
“Boss Jian, could you repeat that?”
Everyone quickly pulled out their notebooks or opened their phone memos, looking serious.
Jian Yunlan was deeply moved. He didn’t expect them to genuinely want to help him gather all the ingredients. This was a huge help.
—If he had gone alone, it might have taken him a day and night to find everything, or at least not the best quality ingredients.
So Jian Yunlan repeated everything.
“Got it!” Old Li wrote everything down and began assigning tasks:
“Old Wang, Aunt Zhang, you two go ask about these. I remember Grandma Wang from the stall in the south sells the best quality.” “Aunt He, Xiao Chen, you go find these…” “Boss Xu, Xiao Ling, these are yours.”
Everyone responded and started searching the market, quickly gathering the ingredients.
And so, a strange scene unfolded at the market.
The customers shopping at the market couldn’t help but glance over—so many market vendors eagerly surrounding a young man, helping him search the entire market for ingredients.
What’s even stranger, the vendors who had been calling out to customers just a moment ago, suddenly stood up and ran off?
Among the group searching for ingredients was a particularly eye-catching large silver dog, with cash hanging from its neck, looking elegant and proud, gazing around with a certain intelligence, occasionally pointing a paw at some ingredients for payment.
“Is this a VIP customer of the market?” Everyone watched Jian Yunlan with envy.
…Wait, can there be VIP customers at a market?!
With the help of the market vendors, Jian Yunlan gathered all the ingredients in less than an hour.
Through the “Chef’s Eye,” he noticed that all the ingredients were of great quality and freshness. They even managed to find authentic Jinhua ham, which glowed with a rich purple light under the Chef’s Eye’s judgment.
Taotie proudly lifted his head: The ham was found by me!
Looking at the honest smiles of the vendors, Jian Yunlan couldn’t help but wish he could hug each of them and give them a kiss on the cheek: “Thank you so much, really, I can’t thank you enough.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all.” “Boss Jian, you must come more often. We old folks get so happy just seeing you!” “Yes, Boss Jian, take care of your health, don’t overwork yourself.”
Most of the market vendors were older than Jian Yunlan, and when they looked at him, there was a sense of concern from the elders toward the younger generation.
Jian Yunlan had grown up in an orphanage, so he rarely felt genuine care from elders, making him feel warm inside and almost brought him to tears.
After the vendors helped Jian Yunlan load the ingredients onto the tricycle, they stood at the market entrance, watching him leave. Even when Jian Yunlan had almost turned the corner, they were still waving:
“Boss Jian, be safe!”
“Come again tomorrow!”
“We’ll be waiting for you!”
Back at the villa, Jian Yunlan, with the help of Taotie and the butler, unloaded the dozens of ingredients, sorting and placing them in their respective categories.
Unlike most fried rice dishes, Yangzhou fried rice requires a soup base.
The base for the Jinhua original soup is chicken broth. Jian Yunlan first started simmering the chicken broth over low heat, letting it cook overnight so that when he woke up the next morning, he could immediately start preparing the Jinhua soup. Additionally, chicken, chicken gizzards, winter bamboo shoots, and flower mushrooms all needed to be diced, and the shrimp needed to be peeled and deveined.
Jian Yunlan’s knife skills were remarkable. When he placed the chicken on the cutting board and twirled the knife in his hand, the blade flickered, and a series of perfectly uniform and beautifully diced pieces of meat appeared.
Taotie watched intently for a long time but still couldn’t figure out how Jian Yunlan managed to cut the meat into such evenly sized pieces.
It was even more precise and beautiful than mechanical slicing.
This was the power of top-tier culinary skills!
The next day.
Jian Yunlan woke up early, preheated the diced chicken, chicken gizzards, flower mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, and sea cucumbers in a hot pan with cold oil, and sautéed some green onions. The chicken broth, which had been simmering all night, now smelled incredibly rich and had a delicate milky-white color, gently bubbling.
He poured the chicken broth into the preheated ingredients and added small, translucent shrimp and dried scallops. After simmering for another half hour, the Jinhua original soup was ready.
With everything prepared, Jian Yunlan loaded the two large iron woks he would use into the tricycle, placed Taotie, who was wearing a dog leash, in the backseat, and then climbed onto the tricycle himself.
Time to open shop!
*
Let’s rewind a bit.
Yunchuan District Police Station.
Normally, this station handled small neighborhood disputes, noise complaints from square dancing, marital conflicts, and occasionally some juvenile fighting education.
But today, two special visitors arrived.
It was the off-season, and there wasn’t much to do, so many officers were casually flipping through files or chatting idly. But as soon as these two entered, everyone perked up, their ears open for gossip.
Especially the new female officer, Xiao Xiao, who often ran over to serve tea and water. She was particularly eager, hoping to steal a few more glances at the handsome visitors.
“Wow!”
Officer Zhang, sitting with a cup of tea, looked at the visitors’ profiles:
“You two have quite the background. One is a provincial top scorer and a scholar from the Computer Science Department at Beijing University who’s won three consecutive national awards, and the other is the CEO of Yuanzhou Group and has made it onto the Forbes list at such a young age? Well, well.”
Officer Zhang took a sip of tea and glanced at the two men.
Across the aisle, Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou were crouching down with their heads held, both over 1.8 meters tall, exuding an air of sophistication that made them seem far from ordinary. Their long legs curled up somewhat awkwardly, and their faces were full of unwillingness and anger.
He’s innocent! He just seeks revenge on his enemies, but Gu Xingzhou is the one who broke the law! Ning Sheng thought angrily.
I’m the innocent one! Ning Sheng hit him so hard that I almost couldn’t survive! Gu Xingzhou thought, feeling aggrieved.
Seeing their expressions, Officer Zhang immediately understood that they both had plenty to say, each too stubborn to admit defeat.
“Now you’re upset, huh? When you were fighting in front of so many people, didn’t you feel ashamed? You’re both grown-ups, not kids anymore.”
“Yesterday, we had another case of fighting—two vocational high school students got into a fight over some game equipment. We gave them tea and a lecture, and each of them wrote a 2,000-word self-reflection.”
Officer Zhang pointed at the two young men, frustrated: “And you two? You’re worse than kids? How many words do you think you should write for your self-reflection?”
“Officer,” Gu Xingzhou could no longer hold back, he raised his head and pointed at Ning Sheng, his dark eyes filled with disbelief. He said defiantly, “He hit me first! I was just defending myself! He’s jealous because I got fried rice to eat, he insulted me and hit me. If I hadn’t protected myself, he would’ve…”
As he spoke, his face turned pale, and he covered his lower body. “Officer, do you understand my pain? Arrest him, I’m innocent!”
Ning Sheng couldn’t hold it in anymore either. His sharp, handsome features were filled with hostility, and he shot Gu Xingzhou a cold glare. “You shameless coward! Officer, don’t listen to his slander! He doesn’t even deserve to eat Boss Jian’s fried rice.”
“I’m the innocent one! He’s been abusing his privileges, bullying men and women alike!”
Officer Zhang clicked his tongue in amazement.
He had to admit, the way these educated people argued was different. The idioms they used were so perfectly fitting.
“Fried rice? So, the reason you two are fighting is really because of a bowl of fried rice?” Officer Zhang asked incredulously. He had initially thought they were joking.
Could this fried rice be made of gold? Why else would these two be fighting over it?!
“Well, it’s not just any fried rice,” Ning Sheng said, suddenly alert. His delicate features softened, and he spoke with a fond smile. “Boss Jian’s fried rice is special, and his wontons are just as amazing… Anyway, I was born to be with fried rice, we’re meant to be together.”
Gu Xingzhou scoffed from the side. “Oh, born to be together? Why didn’t the country use your face to research bulletproof vests?”
Ning Sheng: “…”
The next second.
Ning Sheng shot a fierce look at Gu Xingzhou, and Gu Xingzhou glared back angrily.
The fire that had finally cooled reignited with a “pop!”
Ning Sheng suddenly sprang up, his old grudges flaring again. He rushed over and slapped Gu Xingzhou three times across the face. “You think I’m afraid of you? I’ve had rabies shots!”
“?!” Gu Xingzhou froze for half a second before reacting, instantly glaring at Ning Sheng like an enraged lion. He blocked the slaps while trying to fight back, “You’re the crazy dog!! Woof, woof, woof! Keep barking!”
After saying that, he turned to Officer Zhang. “Officer, you saw this, right? He hit me first! He almost killed me!”
“Alright, you little tattletale,” Ning Sheng gritted his teeth and threw a heavy left hook. “Why didn’t they make you the Young Pioneer captain instead?”
Gu Xingzhou dodged and swept his leg under Ning Sheng. Though blood spilled from his lips, he still smirked, maintaining a devilish charm. “How do you know I’m not?”
Officer Zhang: “…”
The entire police station was stunned by the commotion.
They’d seen enemies before, but they’d never seen anyone fight inside the station. They didn’t even bother pretending anymore.
Officer Zhang swung his baton. “Enough! Separate them, and get down on your knees!”
After more chaos and confusion…
Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou were placed even further apart and handcuffed.
This time, they finally calmed down.
…If you ignore the fact that they were still trying to curse at each other through lip movements.
Officer Zhang rubbed his forehead, his brain buzzing with the headache.
This was really shortening his life!
“Self-reflection, five thousand words, not a single word less,” Officer Zhang glared at the two of them as he handed over paper and pens. “No nonsense, it must be heartfelt.”
“—When you’re done writing, you can leave!”
With that, Officer Zhang slammed his teacup down and walked out.
Ning Sheng: “…”
Gu Xingzhou: “…”
Annoying.
Ning Sheng had always been the top student with excellent conduct, and he had never written a self-reflection in his life. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to write one, but… it was too embarrassing!
His left hand was handcuffed to the wall, and with his right hand holding the pen, the ink bled on the paper, but he couldn’t bring himself to write.
It was all Gu Xingzhou’s fault.
Ning Sheng looked up and glared at Gu Xingzhou from a short distance.
Gu Xingzhou didn’t back down either, returning the glare with a sinister look.
Gu Xingzhou’s right hand was also handcuffed to the wall, looking disheveled, with tissues stuffed in his nose—he had a nosebleed from Ning Sheng’s punch earlier.
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Gu Xingzhou had always gotten whatever he wanted. Though his father was strict with him, everyone else spoiled him. Even though Gu Xingzhou used to bully others in school, no one! No one ever dared to make him write a self-reflection!
It was all Ning Sheng’s fault.
…Gu Xingzhou had almost forgotten how just recently he had been calling out “Ah Sheng” with affection, thinking and longing to claim Ning Sheng as his own.
It turned out, he had never seen Ning Sheng’s true nature.
Ning Sheng wasn’t some cold, stubborn, naive little flower. He was strong-willed, with the fierce determination of a porcupine. Gu Xingzhou, unable to match him, had nearly been beaten by Ning Sheng today—everything hurt, and his pride was completely crushed!
What kind of tyrannical CEO gets beaten by a little white flower?!
Gu Xingzhou placed the pen on his lips, feigning an indifferent and careless attitude.
Let whoever wants to write this self-reflection, because he wasn’t wrong, and he wasn’t going to write it.
Gu Xingzhou had unshakable confidence in his “professional team”—as the CEO of Yuanzhou Group, his capable subordinates must be desperately thinking of ways to get him out by now.
… Meanwhile, the secretary, who had given himself an early day off and was happily enjoying spicy hotpot, sneezed. “Achoo? Who’s thinking about me?”
The secretary thought of Mr. Gu and wondered how he was doing, whether he was full and warm at the police station… But Mr. Gu had said he needed some exercise, and the secretary didn’t want to waste his precious weekend working unpaid overtime.
“Mr. Gu, the Buddha will protect you.”
The secretary clasped his hands together in prayer.
Now, back at the police station:
“Hmph, once he gets out, I’ll definitely show the world just how amazing I am…” Gu Xingzhou thought proudly.
Time passed, minute by minute.
Outside, the day turned to night, and the sky darkened. Officer Zhang came to check on them every half hour. When he saw that they hadn’t written a single word, he was so angry that he laughed. “Oh, so you’re not writing, huh?”
“Fine, just wait!”
Ning Sheng’s expression remained indifferent and at ease, as though everything was under control.
But Gu Xingzhou, while outwardly calm, was secretly starting to panic.
Wait, where were the people coming to get him?
Where was his professional team?!
Finally, when the hour hand passed midnight and the new day began…
Ning Sheng, to his surprise, also began to panic.
He glanced at the clock, his expression conflicted for a moment, before he gripped the pen and started writing his self-reflection.
Gu Xingzhou, who had been observing Ning Sheng, had initially mocked him for being spineless.
But when he saw the time, Gu Xingzhou’s face immediately turned pale:
—There were less than nine hours until Boss Jian’s next food stall opened!
This was bad!!!
I love this!!!!